Open letter to Apple: ‘Genius’ and appointment not required to swap out iPod! Thanks for wasting my time.
Dear Apple executives:
It really shouldn’t take three trips to the Apple store to replace an iPod that is still under warranty. I shouldn’t need to make an appointment to hand you a broken iPod and you hand me a new iPod and someone ring up $100 on the cash register. None of these actions require a technician or a “genius” to complete.
Originally I called the help line and they told me the iPod could be replaced for $100 by just going to the store. I stopped by the store on a Saturday. It was completely packed and they said the next appointment would be two hours away. I said I would return on a weekday, thinking this would mean I could get in and out without an appointment for such a simple transaction.
I returned a few weeks later at 7:30 on a Monday night, and I was told you were completely full and no one could help me despite the fact that at least 10 of your “geniuses” were standing around chatting. I was glad your “geniuses” could take time away from their chatting to make me an appointment for the next day for a transaction that should have taken no more than five minutes but now involves me bringing three children and driving an extra 30 miles to accomplish. Will you reimburse my gas money? (Please be aware I plan to let my three children play with every piece of equipment in the store even after the “genius” finishes my five-minute transaction.)
Three trips to the mall to swap out one iPod does not make me want to purchase any more of your products. And I’m glad I bought a Samsung Galaxy instead of an iPhone.
You need to rethink your customer service to actually serve your customers. Simple transactions should NOT require appointments or geniuses to complete. They also shouldn’t take three trips to a mall.
Sincerely,
Theresa Walsh Giarrusso
(Mother of three children who would love Apple products but won’t be getting anymore after these time-wasting experiences.)
Update to this story: When I showed up for my 2:30 appointment, I was told to check in and there would be a short wait. So we waited and the kids played on the iPhone 5 and the iPads. When the guy came over I told him that we had a broken iPod to replace and that this was my third visit in and that was I bit irritated. This guy was very nice and understanding. He started tapping away on his iPad and said well actually they have messed up and they didn’t make the appointment with the right department so … He trailed off. I could tell wehre this was going and this was about to mean making another appointment. I told him we needed to take care of this today. That I was in the night before and had told the girl exactly what was needed and she made the appointment. He said he would make it happen. To his credit, he took care of it. About 45 minutes later we paid our $100 and left with the new iPod.
Have you experienced similar frustrations with service at the Apple store? Are you buying Apple products for your kids? Have they dropped an iPod and cracked the screen? What do you do — replace it or tough stuff? (Rose is paying half the replacement cost.)
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55 comments Add your comment
get off your horse.
October 11th, 2012
2:28 pm
being a self-entitled know it all isn’t going to get you very far in life or with people in general. truthfully, the majority of your truly awful (and i say that sarcastically) experience could have been avoided if you had chosen to listen the first time you went to the store and you were informed of the fact that you needed an appointment. instead, you chose to be ignorant to simple, doable processes that could have saved you a lot of grief. apple stores are ALWAYS busy. always. think about what would happen if everyone who came in for tech support tried to get help without any form of appointment system in place. the employees would be overwhelmed. even with as many people as i have seen working there, at once, the customer to employee ratio is usually 5+ to 1. there would be chaos. it’s organized this way. think about when you go to the doctor’s office. you can’t just walk in. likewise, not everyone in that office is suited to treat you, just like at apple, as you so lovingly referred to geniuses just “standing around chatting”. from what i understand, not everyone there is actually certified to fix or troubleshoot your device. some employees are technicians, some are salespeople, some are managers, etc. so chances are, the people “standing around chatting” probably weren’t even the right people. and to your mindless act of revenge of letting your kids play with everything in the store, this is the norm. kids come in to do their homework and go on facebook. apple doesn’t care. all of my experiences through tech support at the apple store have always been lovely, smooth and painless. every employee i have ever interacted with has been friendly and more than accommodating. so the next time you feel the need to pull the victim card and get rude because of your own ignorance to standard procedure, just remember that all those people you’re complaining about are really just trying to help your stubborn ass.
Sea_Dragon
October 14th, 2012
8:14 am
Geez, you want some cheese with all that whine?
Lady, you “dropped” your iPod. If you “bumped” you car or “dropped” your television, you would most likely have to pay something to repair it. The warranty softens the blow against your own stupidity. As for the “Geniuses” standing around, I’m not sure you understand who’s who in the apple store. There are geniuses and sales. You may not understand the difference since they clearly appear to be free babysitters to you, but there is. Also, one thing that hasn’t been mentioned is that the appointment system is there to validate the warranty so customer service for st have to figure out at first “what they can do for you”; they can get right to the problem.
As for all the apple haters, I have to ask, why so much hate? I’ve used the Samsung gear and its terrific, but nothing ever feels as nicely put together as apple products. Apple invented the tablet market-INVENTENDED IT! Every smart phone has been an imitation of the iphone and only recently has Samsung and droids finally caught up (I still feel the iPhone is way more responsive than the galaxy). As for in store customer service, good luck getting help from some teenager at Best Buy/Verizon/Radio Shack for your piece of crap phone. Has anyone ever met an apple store employee who is either not happy to be there or not know what they’re talking about? I’m sure some troller (or perhaps the writer of this article) will protest that apple employees are awful, but I think anyone who has walked in an apple store will admit that it’s just not true.
This article is waste if time and am annoyed I read it. You spoiled your child and then rewarded them when they broke an expensive peice of gear. You then wrote an article defaming Apple because you showed up twice without making an appointment expecting them just to “replace your iPod”. Take some responsibility.
M-Aduio
October 14th, 2012
12:56 pm
Even though you see every Apple employee wearing the same shirts, not all of them are a genius. I go to the genius bar with issues that are not simple “my kid broke this and I want a new one NOW”. The employees try to be as polite as they can, but when every 5 minutes a soccer mom comes in (having no idea how to use a computer and make an appointment) demanding service, then I can see why these guys get frustrated.You have to pay $100 for a replacement because its BROKEN! Its called Warranty not Insurance, understand the difference? I agree, small things that are just simple to replace should be done by someone that is not a genius and leave the geniuses free to help us that have real business complex issues, talk to them.
joy
October 15th, 2012
6:56 am
After being in relationship with emma for seven years,he broke up with me, I did everything possible to bring him back but all was in vain, I wanted him back so much because of the love I have for him, I begged him with everything, I made promises but he refused. I explained my problem to someone online and she suggested that I should rather contact a spell caster that could help me cast a spell to bring him back but I am the type that never believed in spell, I had no choice than to try it, I mailed the spell caster, and he told me there was no problem that everything will be okay before three days, that my ex will return to me before three days, he cast the spell and surprisingly in the second day, it was around 4pm. My ex called me, I was so surprised, I answered the call and all he said was that he was so sorry for everything that happened, that he wanted me to return to him, that he loves me so much. I was so happy and went to him, that was how we started living together happily again. Since then, I have made promise that anybody I know that have a relationship problem, I would be of help to such person by reffering him or her to the only real and powerful spell caster who helped me with my own problem and who is different from all the fake ones out there. Anybody could need the help of the spell caster, his email cafaispiritualtemple@yahoo.com) you can email him if you need his assistance in your relationship or anything.
J
October 15th, 2012
12:08 pm
Good luck going to the Samsung store when something happens with your phone.
Or when you operating system starts messing up, let me know how your experience at the Google store goes.